“What at first appeared to be government officials involved in embezzlement to the tune of more than a half-billion dollars now appears to be also connected to a Palestinian money-laundering operation, according to several Law Enforcement Examiner sources.

A top U.S. intelligence chief pleaded guilty last week as a result of a far-reaching federal fraud investigation that nabbed a total of five members of the Department of Homeland Security and may be connected to funnel money to a Palestinian ring, according to a report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police and the Law Enforcement Examiner.

James M. Woosley, the acting director of intelligence for DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pleaded guilty to defrauding the government of more than $180,000 in a scheme involving fraudulent travel vouchers, and time and attendance claims, according to court documents.

The 48-year old former resident of Tucson, Arizona, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of conversion of government money, according to the Department of Justice.

Four other suspects pleaded guilty to charges related to the Woosley case: Ahmed Adil Abdallat, 64, an ICE supervisory intelligence research specialist, pleaded guilty in October 2011; William J. Korn, 53, an ICE intelligence research specialist, pleaded guilty in December 2011; Stephen E. Henderson, 61, a former contractor doing work for ICE, pleaded guilty in January 2012; and Lateisha M. Rollerson, 38, an assistant to Woosley, pleaded guilty in March 2012. Abdallat pleaded guilty in the Western District of Texas, and the others pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia.

Between February 2009 and September 2010, ICE Supervisory Intelligence Research Specialist Ahmed Adil Abdallat also traveled from El Paso, Texas to Washington, D.C. more than ten times, according to records submitted to DHS. Abdallat did so at the recommendation of the ICE Supervisor, and Abdallat submitted fraudulent travel vouchers for expenses that he did not incur, so that he could kick back money to the ICE Supervisor, according to former U.S. Congressman Tom Trancredo, who remains active in monitoring U.S. immigration policy and agencies in the United States.

As a result of the fraudulent travel vouchers, ICE reimbursed Abdallat a total of approximately $116,392.84. Abdallat kept some of the money, but kicked back approximately $58,550 to the ICE Supervisor, Rollerson and another individual, according to court records.

Ahmed Adil Abdallat was sentenced to a mere 12 months in prison for illegal use of a diplomatic passport and submitting fake travel receipts to ICE. According to federal sentencing guidelines, he should have received up to 10 years in federal prison for his unlawful use of a diplomatic passport.

All told, the actions of the various defendants cost taxpayers upwards of $600,000.

“[On May 2] James Woosley became the fifth – and highest-ranking – individual to plead guilty as part of a series of fraud schemes among rogue employees and contractors at ICE,” said U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., District of Columbia.

“He abused his sensitive position of trust to fleece the government by submitting phony paperwork for and taking kickbacks from subordinates who were also on the take. This ongoing investigation demonstrates our dedication to protecting the taxpayer from corrupt government employees and contractors,” Machen added.

According to the government’s evidence, with which Woosley agreed, between May 2008 and January 2011, Woosley participated in fraudulent activity involving travel vouchers, and time and attendance claims. In addition, from June 2008 until February 2011, Woosley was aware of or willfully overlooked fraudulent activity of ICE employees or contract employees under his supervision, such as Palestinian Ahmed Adil Abdallat, a supervisory intelligence specialist.

The other employees included Rollerson, who he met in or about 2007, while he was deputy director for ICE’s Office of Intelligence. Woosley and Rollerson developed a close, personal relationship. In or about May 2008, Rollerson was hired as an intelligence reports writer for a company that did contract work for ICE. Later that year, she was hired by ICE as an intelligence research specialist.

This placed her first in the chain of command under Woosley, and she later became Woosley’s personal assistant. Rollerson’s official duty station was in Washington, D.C., and she lived in Virginia, with Woosley.

Rollerson helped Woosley and the other participants with the paperwork to support the fraudulent payments they later received.

A Palestinian Connection?

According to investigative journalist and radio commentator Debbie Schlussel, suspect Ahmed Adil Abdallat, a Palestinian, served as an intelligence analyst for ICE. And his boss Woosley, the ICE Intelligence chief, could not say anything about it because he is a co-conspirator with Abdallat in submitting phony expense documents to ICE for reimbursement.

“The money, stolen from American taxpayers who paid it to fund this country’s national security, is probably going to fund Islamic terrorism and is definitely going to a multi-million dollar Palestinian money-laundering ring and its bank accounts in Jordan. The Muslim ICE official [had] a US-government-issued diplomatic passport, which he misuse[d] for eight personal trips to Jordan to see Muslim brothers” wrote Schlussel.

“Homeland Security and the Justice Department are minimizing these parts of the story and are succeeding. But the truth is that this is a major national security breach and a gargantuan example of the failure of political correctness and pan-Muslim affirmative action in federal law enforcement agencies” Schlussel stated.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, appointed to the court in 2011 by President Barack Obama, scheduled sentencing of Woosley for July 13, 2012. Under federal guidelines, Woosley faces a likely sentence of 18 to 27 months in prison as well as a potential fine.

In addition, as part of his plea agreement, he agreed to forfeiture of the money he wrongfully obtained. This case was investigated by the DHS Office of Inspector General, the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility.

“The fact that the investigation was handled by the Homeland Security Department and its components instead of by the FBI or other federal investigators is highly suspicious to me. These were high-ranking U.S. intelligence officials who were stealing larges sums of money without the slightest hesitation. Could not these same officials compromise national security or worse?” asks former military intelligence officer and police detective Sid Franes.

“Are Americans getting the whole story? Or are we once again facing yet another political agenda?” he asks.”

Douglas McNabb and other members of the U.S. law firm practice and write and/or report extensively on matters involving Federal Criminal Defense, INTERPOL Red Notice Removal, International Extradition Defense, OFAC SDN Sanctions Removal, International Criminal Court Defense, and US Seizure of Non-Resident, Foreign-Owned Assets. Because we have experience dealing with INTERPOL, our firm understands the inter-relationship that INTERPOL’s “Red Notice” brings to this equation.

The author of this blog is Douglas C. McNabb. Please feel free to contact him directly at mcnabb@mcnabbassociates.com or at one of the offices listed above.

“BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Eight men and women have stood before federal judges in Birmingham the past few weeks on bank fraud charges.

Among them:

• A Mountain Brook man sentenced to four years in prison for embezzling nearly $1.2 million from his former employer by writing checks to himself on the company’s bank account.
• A former Union State Bank branch employee in Trussville sentenced to a month in prison for theft of about $25,000 from the teller drawer and bank vault in 2007 and 2008.
• A former Regions Bank telebanking representative who pleaded guilty to taking $190,000 from a customer’s account during a two-year period, and directing money from the account to pay her bills after she had left her job.

The number of cases being prosecuted for bank fraud by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Alabama has steadily increased in recent years. In 2011 federal prosecutors charged bank fraud in 22 cases, up from 16 cases in 2010, 15 cases in 2009 and 11 cases in 2008. So far, eight cases have been charged this year through May 4.

Some cases include more than one defendant and other charges are also included in some cases.

“I guess it’s a sign of the times,” said James Kendrick, a Birmingham attorney who has represented clients charged with bank fraud.

Rod Pittman, director of corporate security for BBVA Compass, stated in a written response to questions from The Birmingham News that recently they have “seen a significant increase in fraud attempts, the majority of which can be attributed to the economy and technology.”

“In this economy many people are unemployed and more likely to be in a desperate financial situation. This sometimes results in attempted fraud,” Pittman wrote.

Some of those charged with bank fraud in the past year have been bank employees working alone or with help from outside the bank.

Bank employees may be thinking they will pay it back, Kendrick said. “Before you know it, you’ve got more than you can pay,” he said.

Bank fraud isn’t always an inside job.

“The crime of bank fraud is broader than a bank employee stealing money from the bank,” said Peggy Sanford, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in Birmingham.

“The statute allows that if someone makes misrepresentations to a bank in order to get other people’s money held in that bank, then bank fraud has occurred.”

Some attorneys and bank security officials attribute the increase in people being charged by federal prosecutors to a more aggressive stance by the Justice Department on financial fraud.

In many cases the dollar amount is the difference between whether federal prosecutors or state prosecutors will handle a case, said Larry Meredith, director of corporate security for Birmingham-based Cadence Bank.

The U.S. Attorneys Office has been active when it comes to presentations to the banks on various issues, including the importance of the timely sharing of information on possible criminal activity, said Bill Burch, director of corporate security for Regions Bank. “The communication between prosecutors, federal law enforcement offices (and banks) has been enhanced dramatically,” he said.

Sanford said the push by U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance’s office in north Alabama is consistent with the U.S. Justice Department’s efforts to make financial fraud a top priority and President Barack Obama’s creation of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.

Banks don’t generally share how much they lose to fraud schemes, but as an industry it’s in the billions of dollars each year, according to some estimates.

But it’s a lot more than the old fashioned way of illegally taking money from a bank.

“The losses are greater than if you had just walked in an robbed the bank with a note,” Meredith said.

While the money lost in a bank robbery may only be a few thousand dollars, the losses from both internal and external fraud is often tens of thousands of dollars and taken over a period of months and years.

The punishment for bank fraud varies. The range of sentences was one month to four years for those charged and sentenced so far in the 2011 cases on just the bank fraud charges. A few had longer sentences because they also had other charges besides bank fraud.

One person also was acquitted and couple had their bank fraud charge dismissed as part of plea deals at sentencing.

Wellington Monroe Phillips II was sentenced to four years in prison for bank fraud for embezzling nearly $1.2 million from a Birmingham-based natural gas supplier.

Twice a month Phillips issued himself an unauthorized check from the corporate bank account held at First Commercial Bank. He would forge the name of the company’s owner on each check and submit them for payment.

Dan Bailey, chief executive of the Alabama Bankers Association, said that bank customers should take it upon themselves to help secure their accounts, including checking their accounts daily. “Catch it before it goes too far,” he said.”

Douglas McNabb and other members of the U.S. law firm practice and write and/or report extensively on matters involving Federal Criminal Defense, INTERPOL Red Notice Removal, International Extradition Defense, OFAC SDN Sanctions Removal, International Criminal Court Defense, and US Seizure of Non-Resident, Foreign-Owned Assets. Because we have experience dealing with INTERPOL, our firm understands the inter-relationship that INTERPOL’s “Red Notice” brings to this equation.

The author of this blog is Douglas C. McNabb. Please feel free to contact him directly at mcnabb@mcnabbassociates.com or at one of the offices listed above.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on May 8, 2012 released the following:

“Officers Allegedly Stole Government Funds While on Military Duty in Saudi Arabia

ATLANTA— Jasen Minter, 41, of Fayetteville, Georgia, was arraigned today before United States Magistrate Linda T. Walker on federal charges of conspiracy and theft of more than $2,700,000 from the U.S. government while serving as an Army captain in Saudi Arabia. Minter is charged in a federal indictment along with Louis E. Nock, 45, of Orlando, Florida, who served as a senior non-commissioned officer with Minter in Saudi Arabia. Nock was arraigned on the same charges yesterday before Judge Walker. Both defendants were released on bond.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said of the case, “Military officers carry heightened responsibilities to their fellow servicemen as well as the public, including the duty to be diligent and honest with every taxpayer dollar. The Army’s mission in Iraq is simply too important for its own officers to steal critical resources from their fellow servicemen and, as alleged in this case, line their own pockets with cash.”

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: In 2006, then-Captain Minter and Sergeant First Class Nock were finance officers assigned to the U.S. Military Training Mission (USMTM) in Saudi Arabia. The indictment, which was returned by a federal grand jury on May 1, 2012, alleges that, while serving in Saudi Arabia, Minter and Nock embezzled over $2,700,000 from a U.S. government bank account at the Saudi Arabia American Bank (SAMBA) in Riyadh. Funds in this government account were to be used to operate the USMTM finance office, which supports U.S. troops. The indictment alleges that Minter and Nock conspired to withdraw the $2.7 million in two transactions but never delivered the monies to the finance office. Instead, they shipped it back to the United States to fund luxurious lifestyles for themselves and their families.

The charges carry a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison on the conspiracy count, 10 years in prison on each count of theft, and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count. In determining the actual sentence, the court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by special agents of the Army Criminal Investigation Command, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Air Force Office of Special Investigation.

Douglas McNabb and other members of the U.S. law firm practice and write and/or report extensively on matters involving Federal Criminal Defense, INTERPOL Red Notice Removal, International Extradition Defense, OFAC SDN Sanctions Removal, International Criminal Court Defense, and US Seizure of Non-Resident, Foreign-Owned Assets. Because we have experience dealing with INTERPOL, our firm understands the inter-relationship that INTERPOL’s “Red Notice” brings to this equation.

The author of this blog is Douglas C. McNabb. Please feel free to contact him directly at mcnabb@mcnabbassociates.com or at one of the offices listed above.

“Federal prosecutor Todd Kaminsky slams Espada as a brazen crook who treated his tax-supported health clinic as a personal ‘ATM’

BY JOHN MARZULLI

PEDRO ESPADA JR. kicked back and flipped through a couple of books while a federal prosecutor read him the riot act in closing arguments of his embezzlement trial.

As Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Kaminsky blasted Espada as an arrogant thief who looted his taxpayer-funded Bronx health clinic, the ex-state senator thumbed through a Bible and “Black Robes White Justice,” a book by Bruce Wright, a controversial judge known for freeing felons.

Espada tuned out as the prosecutor ripped him and son Pedro Gautier Espada for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from their Soundview Health Network for dinners, vacations and personal gifts.

“The defendants used (the clinic) as their ATM,” Kaminsky told the jury in Brookyn Federal Court.

The disgraced pol pooh-poohed the rebukes outside court.

“He (Kaminsky) said all the same things in the grand jury,” Espada said. “He’s young and ambitious and he has a long way to go.”

Over the past six weeks, prosecutors presented credit card statements and receipts showing the Espadas billing the clinic for personal expenses.

The bills included a 95-cent biscotti cookie from Starbucks, a lavish Sunday meal of Oysters Rockefeller at a City Island restaurant and a $20,000 family trip to a resort in Puerto Rico for a health conference.

“Pedro Espada’s attitude was, ‘I own Soundview, I built Soundview, I am Soundview. If I want to take from Soundview, who’s going to stop me?'” Kaminsky said.

The clinic even picked up the tab for thousands of dollars in home improvements for his residence in Mamaroneck, Westchester County.

“It’s astounding Pedro Espada had his whole house remodeled and he didn’t know how it happened,” Kaminsky said. “He wants you to think, ‘Were we part of an Extreme Home Makeover that we didn’t know about?'””

Douglas McNabb and other members of the U.S. law firm practice and write and/or report extensively on matters involving Federal Criminal Defense, INTERPOL Red Notice Removal, International Extradition and OFAC SDN Sanctions Removal.

The author of this blog is Douglas C. McNabb. Please feel free to contact him directly at mcnabb@mcnabbassociates.com or at one of the offices listed above.

Douglas McNabb and other members of the U.S. law firm practice and write and/or report extensively on matters involving Federal Criminal Defense, INTERPOL Red Notice Removal, International Extradition and OFAC SDN Sanctions Removal.

The author of this blog is Douglas C. McNabb. Please feel free to contact him directly at mcnabb@mcnabbassociates.com or at one of the offices listed above.

The Denver FBI is investigating more than a dozen cases of public corruption in Colorado, Wyoming and Indian country.

The number of investigations is up from three years ago, when agents in the public-corruption unit launched a special hotline urging people to come forward with information.

At the time, the FBI said either no public corruption existed in the region, which was unlikely, or it was underreported. But things have changed.

“We are very busy right now,” said Supervising Special Agent Brian Schmitt. “I don’t know if it is a result of the down economy or if there are more avenues to report.”

Public corruption is defined as an abuse of public office or position within the government for personal gain.

Agents won’t provide details about pending cases but say theft and mishandling of stimulus funds, legislative corruption and law enforcement corruption are the types of crimes they look into.

White-collar crimes such as bribery, fraud, extortion, embezzlement, insider trading and influence peddling take a long time to investigate and require agents who have special skills.

In 2010, the FBI opened an investigation into a Denver driving-school instructor who was taking bribes in exchange for passing tests.

Criminal charges haven’t been filed against Sikiru Fadeyi, the owner of Ola’s Driving School, but undercover agents infiltrated his business and recorded him accepting bribes, court records show.

The reason charges have not materialized against Fadeyi — who was an agent of the state because he was licensed to administer tests — is because of the complex nature of the investigation. Leads from that case extend to other states as far away as New York and Hawaii.

For now, Fadeyi’s license is suspended and he is not allowed to operate the driving school.

FBI agents routinely work cases with local law enforcement, but when it comes to corruption investigations, the agents tackle them alone. They don’t want local officers with ties to a particular city or agency in conflict with the investigation.

Public-corruption cases — such as the charges against former Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich — receive intense coverage by the media and are followed closely by the public, which can complicate investigations for the FBI.

Witnesses are less likely to come forward when there is too much attention on a case, Schmitt said.

Also, agents and federal prosecutors are aware that the targets of white-collar investigations typically hire top-notch defense lawyers to fight the charges.

“The cases we put together have to be rock solid,” he said.

Schmitt said corruption in the region isn’t rampant as it is in places such as Detroit and New Orleans, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

Douglas McNabb and other members of the U.S. law firm practice and write and/or report extensively on matters involving Federal Criminal Defense, INTERPOL Red Notice Removal, International Extradition and OFAC SDN Sanctions Removal.

The author of this blog is Douglas McNabb. Please feel free to contact him directly at mcnabb@mcnabbassociates.com or at one of the offices listed above.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on September 28, 2011 released the following:

“MADISON, WI— A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, returned the following indictments today. You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Eau Claire Man Charged with Child Pornography Crimes

David J. Kmetz, 43, Eau Claire, Wis., is charged with one count of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing a computer hard drive containing child pornography. The indictment alleges that on July 26, 2010, he distributed computer images and video files containing visual depictions involving the use of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and that he possessed the computer hard drive on January 11, 2011.

If convicted, Kmetz faces a penalty of at least five years and up to 20 years in federal prison on the distribution count, and 10 years on the possession count. The charges against him are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of this case has been assigned to Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter M. Jarosz.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Waterloo Man Charged with Embezzlement

Allen R. Howe, 63, Waterloo, Wis., is charged with embezzling $56,723.74, from the Allen Howe & Son, Inc. Simple Retirement Account Trust. The indictment alleges that from December 2006 through September 2009, he withheld that amount of Allen Howe & Son, Inc. employee contributions, and failed to make payments to any financial institution on behalf of those employees.

If convicted, Howe faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. The charge against him is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration. The prosecution of this case has been assigned to Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter M. Jarosz.”

Douglas McNabb and other members of the U.S. law firm practice and write and/or report extensively on matters involving Federal Criminal Defense, INTERPOL Red Notice Removal, International Extradition and OFAC SDN Sanctions Removal.

The author of this blog is Douglas McNabb. Please feel free to contact him directly at mcnabb@mcnabbassociates.com or at one of the offices listed above.